The media are an indispensable ally for the abolitionist movement and can dramatically influence public opinion in favour of abolition. However, accessing and working with the media can be a daunting task. In his workshop were exchanged good practices and experiences were exchanged between journalists and abolitionists as regards how to better convey the abolitionist message to the media.

For abolition actors, lournalism is an important way of revealing a reality about which most of the population is unaware. By covering death penalty cases, conditions on death row and executions, journalists can act as a connection with the public, setting out the arguments (particularly utilitarian ones) against the death penalty and better describing the judicial and security realities involved. How can abolitionist actors work with journalists? Below are some aspects of the answer.

In order to raise awareness among the media about the death penalty, all abolitionist actors/organisations must define a strategy to target the right media outlet and the right audience. An abolitionist organisation must ask itself the following questions in particular:
• Who would it like to reach with its message? What is the aim of it?
• Is it targeting public opinion, abolitionist activists, those working in the justice system?

Once the aim of the message has been defined, the organisation must then identify:
• The most relevant kind of media outlet. How will the message best reach its target audience? (Radio, television, electronic media or written press?) and
• When is the best time to broadcast this information?97
Once this strategy has been defined, it is essential for the organisation to know what the media outlet targeted is actually like. If it is a question of raising awareness within the written press, for example, it must find out about the kinds of newspapers present in the country in question. As the journalist Iwan Santosa explained, there are two kinds of press: those which support abolition of the death penalty and those which do not.
The organisation will obviously want to work with the first kind of media outlet. In order to choose the most relevant newspaper, the organisation must then follow the advice below:
• Study the level of censorship in the country
• Study the newspaper’s editorial line to assess the risks the newspaper is ready to take in defence of human rights;
• Assess the government’s influence on the newspaper.

If the country in question has a significant level of censorship, the organisation cannot work with journalists without putting them in danger. Moreover, if possible it should focus on the media of a country in the region where censorship is not so high.

It is no less important for journalists working in retentionist countries to find ways to communicate their messages. In some countries, such as China, social networks are used by journalists/communicators and by public opinion itself to express their opinions on the death penalty, particularly through blogs. The comments made enable users of the internet to debate the issue of capital punishment. They can also, in turn, call upon organisations or overseas media to broadcast their message and their articles.

The Pakistani journalist, Aroon Arthur, talked about the difficulty of publishing in Pakistan (see the sidebar: Aaron Arthur’s story).

 

Notes


For more information

The story of Aroon Arthur, a journalist in Pakistan